Pulling Suspension Code

HOTLNC

Charter Member
Paid Member
Has anybody been successful pulling trouble codes from the suspension connector on the right side of the car? The engine connector is on the left. That side works OK. The connector on the right is for the suspension and it looks like it is working (the pump turns on and you can here the reader running through the test.) But the tester says "Vehicle Not Responding." and no codes are recovered.
 
RE: Pulling Suspension Code

Hi, Jerry.
Have you got the right scan tool? You can "pull codes" only from networked OBDII equipped vehicles. On all others, you must have a tester capable of what's referred to as "STARII Emulation". If you do, here's how to recieve codes:
Suspension switch on.
Both doors closed.
Scan tool in HOLD position.
Reach in and turn the ignition on without opening the door. Latch the tool into TEST mode. You will recieve a code 10. This means the tool has signalled the Vehicle Dynamics module to enter Auto Test. It will turn the compressor and all solenoids on and off. You'll see each corner rise and fall, exercising the height sensors. This may take between 2 and 10 minutes. When it's done, you'll get a code 12.
Open the driver's door, turn the steering wheel 1/4 turn in each direction (engine not running), close the door, then go around and open and close the passenger door.
Unlatch the scan tool back into HOLD for one full second, then click it back into TEST. Now you'll get trouble codes.
Code 11 is a pass.
Let us know what codes you get!
 
RE: Pulling Suspension Code

I do not. I have an Auto Xray, EZreader2000. IT does OBD I and II. The buttons on it do not latch or slide -- tact switches only.

Soooo Am I SOL?
 
RE: Pulling Suspension Code

That's a pain.
I've seen so many posts about Ford forcing the car owner to come to the dealership for repair and this is one time I have to agree. The older style suspensions can only be diagnosed with Ford's SUPERSTARII, an obsolete relic of a tool we used to use for early EEC diagnosis. Our NGS can emulate it, as can some of the Snap-on scanners. Other scan tools cannot initialize the test sequence within the Dynamics module.
Why do you want to get codes? What's wrong?
 
RE: Pulling Suspension Code

What's wrong is the car sometimes will not pump back up after highway speeds. It gives the error message "Check Air Suspension." If I stop the car and turn off motor for a minute or two, sometimes it pumps back up and works great and sometimes it does not. The air compressor, both front sensors and the rear bags are new. Mostly it fails in the morning. Driving home in the evening usually is OK - it works fine. The car is not slammed in the mornings or over the weekends. If there are front leaks they are very, very minor and no problem for the new compressor. It's almost like the suspension computer forgets to pump the car up and I have to remind it by cycling the ignition switch.


So this morning, the car's front was totally slammed. The front struts were replaced with OEM ones about 90K miles agao. Is it time for new struts and valves?
 
RE: Pulling Suspension Code

Jerry, it seems that when I reply to your posts I give you a long list of possibilities. I won't this time. There are many in this case, and a proper diagnosis and code retrieval would certainly narrow them down.
If we're going to hazard a guess, I've seen these symptoms many times and it's usually compressor relays. They have a terrible failure rate, and often behave very randomly, sometimes being OK for days and then preventing compressor run a number of times in a matter of minutes.
If you replace yours, look very carefully at the harness connector for any signs of corrosion, particularily at the two smaller control wires. I'm not talking about heavy green; even if the copper is only discoloured black it could affect control. Be sure to use DeOxit or a similar contact cleaner and then put some di-electric paste on the connections.
 
RE: Pulling Suspension Code

Yeah, a relay. I'll order the solid state relay and check out the wiring.

Thanks.
 
RE: Pulling Suspension Code

I bought a Ford Rotunda Star Tester a while back. The dealer ship wanted $60 bucks to run the test. I got one on ebay for 120 and my thought was if I use it twice, it will pay for itself. Here we are at like 10 times using it so it must not have been a bad idea. If anyone need to pull a code, I would be happy to do it for them for freezy if they live in the Fort Smith, Arkansas area.
 
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